CONCEPTUAL EVALUATION OF TYPE B(U) CASKS FOR THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS OF ARGENTINA

In a conceptual evaluation of different designs of a type B(U) package, several engineering solutions must be studied. In this stage (conceptual design) small, easy and fast computer programs should be used. The principal issues that have to be fixed are shielding properties, thermal effects and mechanical behavior. In conceptual evaluations, different boundary conditions correspond to different final choices: materials and geometry, total transported weight, burnup levels and decay times. In Argentina two different nuclear power plants are in operation, Atucha I (PHWR-Siemens) and Embalse (PHWR-CANDU). Thus two very different fuel elements could be potentially transported. In order to optimize the research and development needed for the design and construction of the cask, the cost-benefit and flexibility of the engineering solutions are studied, for the two fuel elements.